Martine McCutcheon puts acting on hold

Martine McCutcheon has revealed that she is putting her acting career on hold because there are so few drama projects being commissioned.

The former EastEnders and Echo Beach star recently branched out into writing by releasing her debut novel The Mistress.

Discussing what the future holds, McCutcheon told Take 5: "I'd love to do more acting but at the moment there's nothing really fantastic around. There's so much reality TV now that there are 20 girls going for each job when before there would be three of you.

"You have to really, really want it. Right now I would rather be creative and do something I believe in."

She continued: "I'd love to do another book and I might be doing some TV presenting."

McCutcheon recently hit back at critics who had attacked her literary efforts.